Apparatus for washing minerals by means of liquid streams



A. FRANCE May 27, 1930.

APPARATUS FOR WASHING MINERALS BY MEANS OF LIQUID STREAMS Filed Dec. 50,1926 Mae. 7

Patented May .27, 1930 UNITED STATES-- PATENT OFFICE ANTOINE FRANCE, OFLIEGE, BELGIUM APPARATUS FOR W ASEING MINERALS BY MEANS OF LIQUIDSTREAMS Application filed December 30, 1926, Serial No. 158,063, and inBelgium December 30, 1925.

The washing of minerals, and more particularly of so-called .schlamms,by means of liquid streams may be eflfected in plant of.

" the type described in my Patent No. 1,508,176, dated Sept. 9, 1924,and which comprises a number of'launders superposed in cascadeformation, a battery of separating pockets arranged alon each of thesaid launders, and a mechanica device, such as for instance a bucketelevator, which takes up the products delivered at the end ofthe-lowermost launder or launders and returns them to the top of thecascade. In order that this treatment may-be of great efiicacy, the saidplant must be completed by a concentrating tank to which the raw productand the product taken up by the aforesaid mechanical device are sentboth to effect the soaking of the particles and to obtain a suitabledegree of concentration. The principle of this arrangement is describedin my patent-No. 1,476,243 dated 2 Dec. 4, 1923.

In order to increase the efiiciency of the .washin of the particles inplant of the type just re erred to, completed .by the concentratingtank, it is desirable to obtain a specific gravity of the muddy liquidwhich approaches as nearly as possible the ideal specific gravity ofseparation of the so-called schist or slaty material and the clean coal.Now, in some minerals, such as for instance coal, it often ha pens thatthe finest'particles are constituted by loam forthcoming in part fromthe dilution of the sch-ists by the washing. operation itself. Theobject of the present invention is to employ this impalpable loam forthe purpose of increasing the specific gravity of the muddy liquid bycollect-' ing the washed particles on vibrating screens of very-finemesh (for-instance1/250thof 45 a-rli inch) on which clear water rinsingtakes p ace.

An embodiment of plant suitable for carrying out the process accordingto'the invention, as applied to the washing of socalled schlamms, isillustratedyby way of example only, by the accompanying drawmg. 7Referring to thesaid drawing, 10,10 and 10" indicate launders arrangedin cascade formation and along each of which is arranged a battery ofseparating pockets 9. The pockets 9 of the lowermost launder 10" deliverpure schist or slaty material, which is collected at 11. The two lowestlaunders deliver at their end a product to be rewashed, which isreceived in the tank 12, while the end of the upper launder deliverswashed schlamm to which there still adheres, however, some \loamy mud.Accordingtothe invention, this schlamm is delivered on a vibratingscreen of very fine mesh 13, on which it is rinsed by means of clearwater sprayed from nozzles 16 or similar means, before being finallydischarged at 14. The loam-laden water from this rlnsing goes-to thecistern for the product to be re-washed. As the treatment in the presentexample applies to fine particles, a centrifugal pump 15 is provided inthe present case, rather than a bucket elevator, to bring back thisproduct to be rewashed from the cistern 12 into the concentrating tank 1which supplies the u per laun der 10 with raw product and with productto be re-washed.

THe purpose of the operation is double: removing the loam of the washedproduct of which the articles, owing to the loam diluted 1 in the wasing water, are covered with a film of this material, and recoveringthesaid loam which is mixed with the raw material 'and' ss the materialto be re-washed in order to constitute the mixture favourable to theclassification according to specific gravity in the washing plant. r

g It should be understood that while the invention is described abovewith particular reference to plant comprising a plurality of superposedlaunders and a concentrating tank supplying the material to be treatedto the upper launder, its principle is applicable as well to plantcomprlsing a single washing launder, and to plant wherein theconcentratin tank is dispensed with.

t should further be understood that the products to be rewashed may bereturned either to the top of the up r launder or to ity of suitablthe-top of any of the laun ers of a series of launders superposed incascade formation. I claim: 1 v

A plant for washing schlamms and other fine mineral particles,comprising: a pluralinclined launders for washing the partic es by meansof liquid stratifying streams, discharge means for the lowest stratumhigh gravity particles of each launder except the last into the adjacentlaunder for further washing therein, a' very fine meshed vibratinscreen, arranged at the end of the first laun er, for separating fromthe fine articles discharged at the end of same the m of loamsurrounding said articles, means for sprayin clear water a apted tocooperate with sai screen in removing said film of loam, means tocollect simultaneously and amalgamate the loam derived fromthisscreening and the light particles discharged at theend of a numberof launders, except the first, and means to bring back into one of thelaunders the thus amalgamated products.

In testimony whereof I signed hereunto my name.

ANTOINE FRANCE.

